Going Topside
by BronyShire
Summary: They had finally done it, after going through hell in Rapture it had finally come to the time where they had to leave. The first time Jack meets Atlas, and the first time he speaks to him. Though things were never easy, and getting up to the surface wouldn't be either. AU where Atlas is not revealed to be Fontaine.


**This is my attempt at writing JackxAtlas, which I have no what the ship name is. In this universe, Atlas was never revealed to be Fontaine but stayed as a separate person.**

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It was hard coming to terms with it at first, that the voice he had come so accustomed actually belonged to something other than a shortwave radio. There wasn't time to stop and stare though, because they were both running for that bathysphere as quickly as their feet would carry them.

"Come on boyo, I'm not leaving you behind!" He called in his thick Irish accent.

Jack shook his head to come back to reality, and pushed himself to catch up with Atlas, and then they could finally catch a breath on the seats of the bathysphere. Now Jack could finally get a good look at the man. He looked incredibly _plain _for a worker, black dungarees with suspenders attached that ran up to his broad shoulders. On his chest was a faded grey shirt, with the top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to reveal bruises and oil stains on his skin. Atop of his blonde hair was a black hat which looked like it was slowly ripping apart. Considering he probably hadn't had a proper wash in god knows how long, and that he had been fighting god knows what he looked incredibly good. Much better than Jack anyway, wearing a bloody jumper with tears as far as the eye can see and uncomfortable trousers which had a habit of sagging since he had no belt. Either way, it just nice to rest his feet and have a think. He never could rest in Rapture, always running or hiding from something and he knew if he relaxed for too long Atlas was sure to say something about it. Then Atlas reached into his pocket, and pulled out a tattered but fairly clean looking bandage.

"Let me help you heal up." He said, his voice no longer as characteristic as before, and he moved over to sit beside Jack.

Jack didn't say anything, not that he had ever spoken to him before, and just let Atlas tend to his wounds, which there were many. The bathysphere ride would take longer than most, as it began to descend topside, so they had plenty of time to talk. Though what was there to talk about? Jack never really thought they would get this far, as much as he hoped he just assumed something would go wrong like the many times before, and he had no idea what they would do once they got back to the lighthouse. How would they get anywhere? He couldn't even remember what it was like up there, feeling the sun on your skin and watching the stars at night. It's not like he had any family to return to since he killed his real dad with a golf club just hours ago, and he already knew where the fate of his true mother lay. Atlas didn't have anybody either, his wife Moira and son Patrick dying at the hands of the devious Andrew Ryan. All they had now was each other, which wasn't completely bad. If there was anybody Jack could trust now it was the man sitting beside him, even though he knew practically nothing about him. He knew he was Irish, he knew he rebelled against Andrew Ryan, and that he had a family. Technically Jack lost a family too, though it's not as if they ever truly existed and the one that did was broken and he didn't even know about before his last hours in this hell hole. How long had it been? He was certain it was under 24 hours though it felt like days. He only stopped to sleep once, and when he did he was risking everything, but his eyes were drooping and if he didn't sleep he would end up dead anyway. He wouldn't have gotten anywhere if it weren't for Atlas, who helped him sorely for the sake of helping him, and of course helping his family but that was just a given. Sure he had Tenenbaum, though all she truly wanted was to save the little sisters and gave him gifts from time to time. She had helped him rewrite his DNA, to stop Fontaine controlling him, but when he was finally killed she had no further use for him. She didn't help him get back up to the surface, she just gathered her children together and stopped contacting him. Priorities, Jack thought. If there was anybody Jack would have wanted to take to the surface with him, to have by his side, it was the cheery Irish fellow.

"I'm sorry about your family." Jack finally broke the silence.

Atlas was slightly startled at first, hearing the boy's voice for the first time. It was nice, a light English accent to compliment his own, a bit too soft for Jack though but it's not as if he had a lot of facts to go on to judge him. It was nice though, like a sugar coating on something awful. He hadn't thought about them for a while, because he knew it would be too painful to and would only get his mind on other things. Atlas finished tying the last bandage, and then sat up and turned to Jack with a small smile on his face.

"Don't worry about me, I'm... fine." Atlas said, even though he knew there was no point lying.

Then there was quiet, the only sound being the creaking bathysphere which was just slightly unnerving.

"Besides, now I've got you." Atlas debated saying it over and over again in his head, since it sounded creepy and pretty pathetic, though it had to be said.

Jack smiled back, nodding, and letting his eyes drift to the glass door.

"Not much of a chatterbox then?" Atlas asked, resting his arm on the back of the sofa. "No need to be shy boyo."

It was hard not to smile at the nickname, more of a pet name really. Jack was never really a shy person, though with all the things happening having conversations was the last thing on his mind. Now he could talk all he wanted though, because they were finally safe. They were out of that hell hole Rapture. They could blend in easily, they were human enough after all, maybe the fact he could shoot lightning from his hands was not something he would share.

"Sorry Atlas, I've just had a lot to process in the last few hours." Jack said quietly.

Atlas sighed "Yeah I know, finding your whole life was a lie is not something you can get over easily. Don't let it get to you, we can start a new life topside." Atlas reassured him.

Jack nodded, turning his head back to face Atlas who was still smiling in such a sweet way. His eyes were as blue as the ocean that surrounded them, sparkling as bright as the stars above them.

"Jack..?" Atlas asked, his eyes moving to face the door.

"Huh?" Jack shook his head to come back to reality once again.

There was a cracking noise, and when his eyes moved to the glass door of the bathysphere he could see the door slowly tearing apart.

"The pressure must be too much." Jack stated, and wondered if it would break before they could reach the top.

Then the whole thing collapsed, the door shattering and glass shooting towards the two men, and the bathysphere slowly began to fall back down.

"No!" Atlas yelled "I am _not_ going back there!"

Then Jack remembered, he didn't even know how to swim... Bit ironic really, though now wasn't the time for that kind of thinking. They had to get out, they had worked too hard just to die right at the last minute. Water began to flow, forcing the two to swim to the top of the sphere which was caving in as they tried to think. A bit of debris came from the door frame, and hit Jack square in the head. That was when everything went black, and hazy, he could hear Atlas shouting his name but he couldn't do anything but fall. Atlas dove under to get him, holding his breath as he did so, he came to the ceiling to catch more breath and then took it upon himself to bring Jack to the surface. It didn't help that his darn sweater was getting so heavy with all the water, so as quickly as he could he pulled it from Jack's skin and drove to get to the top. He could see it, it wasn't too far away, he could do this. He found himself spluttering as he came nearer, but he wouldn't allow himself to drown, especially if that meant Jack falling down with him.


End file.
